In a conventional sewing machine a pair of base presses move over a work surface in the sewing direction and then up away from the work surface for returning to a starting position. A pocket cloth bridges over these base presses and is pushed down between them by a T-shaped center press, after which a pair of folders fold the pocket cloth.
In the operation of this conventional sewing machine, a series of pocket forming operations are started automatically, including forward movement of the base presses with suitably positioned cloths. Meanwhile, sewing with needles and appropriate cutting of the cloth takes place successively, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,204. Then the base presses return to the starting position.
However, in this operation, when the base presses are located at the starting position, all cloths are moved manually. It takes about six seconds for a trained operator to properly set the cloths, after which the sewing machine work, including movement of the base presses, takes about seven seconds, for a total of about twelve or thirteen seconds. This operation has the disadvantage of low efficiency since it includes idle time during sewing machine operation when the operator cannot set the cloths.